Our lives in danger, we can’t return to our home, fleeing Nigerian cries out
In 21st century there are still some cultures that, when revealed, bring about story that touches the mind. That is the case with a Nigerian, by name Agbo Sunday Chidubem, who fled Nigeria to United States of America in May 2018.
The DEFENDER, a Nigerian based newspaper that seeks to show passion for the oppressed globally, has got more of this case on its hands and Chidubem is just one of the many such discoveries it has made since 2016. It is sad that in Nigeria, during our investigations in his state of Enugu, South East Nigeria, it was difficult to get support of the locals since they believed it was tantamount to desecrating the culture and tradition of the land and would not be available for any cooperation we so requested.
Be that as it may, Agbo Sunday Chidubem, his wife and daughter, pathetically, have since fled their country for the main fact of seeking to be saved from what they believe is evil of their culture and tradition towards them. They fled because not even any law enforcement agency could be of help and that is understandable by the socio-cultural construction of the country.
Read details of his story as presented by him:
“My name is Agbo Sunday Chidubem and my village practises the Igbo tradition and culture, though we have a large amount of Christians there. My grandfather was a pagan but my parents were Christians..We normally have my grandfather’s sacrifice during the OMABA and NEW YAM festival.. He was an “ozo” OMABA title holder.
“These traditional title holders (ndi ichie & ndi ozo) with the chief priest of OMABA usually decide and inaugurate the eze (king) of opi.. They are very diabolical and influential not only in the village but all over.
“In OPI, OMABA river is the only source of water in the community and according to tradition the OMABA deity is female. It is mandatory for a female priest too serve the goddess with a male priest. As such the process of choosing the princess requires a lot of spiritual work done by the chief priest and his co-workers. It’s always hard to know what they do but at the end they will inform the whole kindred whom the OMABA has chosen.. Some usually see it as an honour but the reverse in my own case as a Christian.
“It all started when the last princess died last year February 2017. The village has been without the princess because no one was qualified. No one qualified because the female children from the selected families were not virgins. The reality of the matter is that nobody knows exactly the criteria’s for choosing who the next princess will be.
“To my greatest surprise, I got a call from my village in June 2017; at that time my baby was just 3 years old, informing me that the OMABA goddess had chosen our baby girl to be the princess. I was destabilized. I told my wife what my elder brother said from my village. I was so surprised because they don’t have my number and as such they went to my elder brother’s house. When I got married I remembered telling my wife about the tradition and culture of our land and all that entails in our village, so we wept all day because our baby girl is our only child.
“The week after I got the call, I rushed to the village to see how I can manage the situation and stop it from destroying my family. My first argument was how a baby of 3 years could function as a princess of OMABA? The answer I got was what took me off balance.. They said my wife will also be involved. They said the spirit will move from the child to the mother. This will now require both of them to be circumcised on the same day which they term as cleansing. They see it as an avenue for my daughter not to be promiscuous and dedicate herself to serving the goddess of our land.
“I saw all that as a threat and the utmost violation of human rights. Christians couldn’t come to my aid. My uncle Jeff advised me not to go on a fruitless journey like this without respecting the tradition and culture of Opi land.
“Having realised the danger I was involved in, I rushed to Lagos in a nearby police station to lodge my complaint. The senior police officer said it will be so difficult for them to intervene in the tradition and culture of my land; he actually felt for me but said I should find a way to manage the situation.. He further explained to me why he is encouraging me to comply because there is no place in the country that the traditional lord tentacle will not get to me because they are spread all over the country with connections.
“He further illustrated a particular man that ran to the north where Boko Haram are currently operating and was caught. He eventually lost his life. Because it has to do with the tradition and culture, the police are limited. He later advised me to try to go to a developed country where human rights are well protected. I became more afraid. He gave me 2 police men to follow me to my house where I lived.
“On seeing the policemen with me, the king said he hasn’t endangered anyone that he is only practising the culture which I refused to follow because I am a Christian. One of the policemen happened to be an Igbo man. It was then I realised that I had become an enemy of all of them because I reported the cultural issue to a government agency. Members of my extended family started rejecting me. I became ostracized by my own people.. I hurriedly looked for a way out for the fear of being hurt.
“I got to Lagos and was disturbed when my wife told me that her family also are encouraging her to listen and obey the tradition of my people, saying no single person can fight a whole community and succeed. The whole family had deserted us.. Then I realised the importance of my marriage. My wife’s grandfather and my grandfather were kings. (Eze achilike of opi).
“I thought all day and was reconsidering our stand but my wife was fired up saying that I had given up to their pressure. She quickly picked her belongings and that of our baby’s.. She said a lot of words out of annoyance. The tradition of our land had succeeded in bringing a crack to our marriage. She left me all lone with so much to think about.. It took the intervention of my friend Obinna to bring her back home. Since then our relationship has never been the same.
“I had never imagined that someone from my family let alone my child could be called to serve a deity.
“My wife and I are Christians that believe in the almighty GOD and his son Jesus Christ through him that salvation was brought to mankind. I do not and refuse to believe in any other god except the almighty GOD so my wife, I and our child cannot serve them.. The implication is also known to us, circumcision, let alone the unsterilized instruments.. A responsible father cannot allow this to happen to his wife and child he loves.
“In November 2017, I was summoned to the village. Again there was another dispute.. Was threatened and told that with or without my cooperation they will take my daughter. There is a tendency of abducting the baby girl when parents resist the circumcision of their daughter. They do that mostly to avoid the wrath of their goddess, by so doing providing the chosen princess by all means.
“They were left with no other option than to eliminate us. So no one can protect the baby. Villagers will be made to believe that OMABA has done justice. We put our money together we applied for an American visa and left the shore of Nigeria.
“Our lives are in danger. We cannot return to our home,” he said.
